HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Completed circa 1778 (town history also calls it the 1788 home), the oldest structure in Jonesborough lodged Andrew Jackson while he practiced law in Jonesborough and is now a focal point for the town's presidential ghost lore
124 West Main Street, Jonesborough, TN 37659
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewing free; located in the Jonesborough historic district
Access
Limited Access
Unpaved yard area around the log cabin; some uneven terrain
Equipment
Photos OK
Oldest surviving structure in Jonesborough · Predates Tennessee statehood by 18 years · Home of Mary and Christopher Taylor and their family · Lodging for Andrew Jackson while practicing law in Jonesborough
The house was completed around 1778 and housed Mary and Christopher Taylor and their family; town history also calls it the 1788 Christopher Taylor Home. The structure predates both the founding of Jonesborough (1779) and Tennessee statehood (1796). A historical marker documented by the Historical Marker Database (HMDB marker 83137) confirms the building's age and its place as the oldest extant structure in Jonesborough.
Andrew Jackson arrived in Jonesborough in the late 1780s as a young attorney—he had been appointed public prosecutor for the Western District of North Carolina, which then included the territory that would become Tennessee. Jackson lodged at the Taylor home while practicing law in Jonesborough. The house was relocated from its original site to Main Street in the early 1970s.
The structure is maintained within the Jonesborough National Register Historic District. Tennessee Vacation's official press has listed it among the state's notable historic haunted properties, noting its association with the town's founding era.
Sources
The ghost story attached to the Christopher Taylor House centers on Andrew Jackson, who is said to appear near the cabin and walk toward the Chester Inn as though still making his rounds between the buildings. The claim appears in Tennessee tourism coverage and local walking tour accounts; its primary attribution is to local tradition rather than documented investigation.
A ghostly figure reported near the cabin's doorway—emerging from the closed door and dissolving before reaching the yard—also circulates in accounts of Jonesborough's haunted sites. These reports share the non-specific quality of much Presidential ghost lore; the strength of the site is its documented age and its verified connection to a major historical figure, not the paranormal claims themselves. The building's age alone—nearly 250 years—gives it a gravity that requires no embellishment.
Notable Entities
The Christopher Taylor House is an original log cabin completed around 1778; the town history also calls it the 1788 Christopher Taylor Home. Mary and Christopher Taylor lived here with their family. It is the oldest surviving structure in Jonesborough and one of the oldest buildings in Tennessee. Andrew Jackson lodged here while practicing law in Jonesborough.
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